Matt Stonie, San Jose resident and college student, aims to dethrone Joey Chestnut

Courtesy Dorian Stonie -- Matt "Megatoad" Stonie stuffs Nathan's hot dogs as he competes in the annual Fourth of July hot dog eating contest on Coney Island, New York. Stonie, 20, of San Jose, is currently ranked number six on the professional competitive eating ranking. He finished fourth in this year's Nathan's competition, won again by San Jose's Joey Chestnut, a perennial winner of the event.

For many, competitive eating evokes images of men with large guts and little concern over their health, inhaling gargantuan, and at times grotesque, quantities of food in as little time as possible.

Enter Matt "Megatoad" Stonie, one exception to this common conception.

The 20-year-old San Jose native and graduate of Evergreen Valley High School is the youngest member of Major League Eating, the world's premier professional eating federation. At 120 pounds and 5-foot-6 inches tall, Stonie hardly fits the bill of a competitive eater. Despite his slight build, he is currently ranked sixth in the world and placed fourth in the league's biggest event of the year, Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island.

The biggest catch, however, is Stonie's post-college career plan: to become a dietitian.

A sophomore at Mission College in Santa Clara, Stonie is currently majoring in nutrition, a seemingly contradictory decision given his passion and talent for stuffing food into his mouth.

"A lot of people say it's ironic," he said. "I think a lot of it is you kind of have to have an interest in food. It helps a lot, too, with all the eating going on to know" about nutrition.

Stonie's path to glory began in 2010 after winning a lobster roll eating contest in Hampton Beach, N.H., where his family vacations in the summer. After his win, Stonie decided to turn his hobby into something more serious.

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"It was one of those things that interested me, and I was like 'Hey, maybe I should look more into this as a casual thing,'" he said. "I'm a really competitive person, and I wanted to compete with the best people, so I ended up joining the league."

A year after winning his first amateur title, Stonie registered with Major League Eating so he could participate in sanctioned competitions around the world, chowing down on everything from shrimp wontons to buffalo chicken wings. Although his favorite foods are sushi and curry with rice, a nod to his half-Japanese ancestry, he rarely eats them in competitions, which often favor "greasy, salty" foods that Stonie is not particularly fond of. Still, he's willing to consume all he can in order to increase his ranking.

While some parents might disapprove of professional gluttony, Stonie's parents, Cathy and Dorian Stonie, wholeheartedly support their son's ambitions.

Dorian Stonie, a procurement manager for a computer company, said that over time he and his wife have gotten just as into the Major League Eating world as their son, frequently rooting for him at his competitions.

"It's not just the Fourth of July," he said. "It's amazing how many events they put on, and it's been interesting to see as Matthew has competed."

Not surprisingly, his parents find little irony in his major, believing that his knowledge of nutrition actually helps him train efficiently.

"As part of his competitive eating, he really watches what he eats," Cathy Stonie said. "He controls everything. He can recite all of this (nutrition) information off of the back of his hand."

Matt Stonie, born and raised in the wake of the Information Age, wields an active online presence. Like other college-age males, Stonie spends a lot of his time playing video games and found his competitive eating nickname, "Megatoad," in the character Toad from Super Mario Bros. He also posts his eating competitions to his YouTube channel, and keeps fans up to date with his training schedule on his blog. With his domination of the digital world, Stonie is quickly fashioning his celebrity for the Major League Eating fanbase.

Richard Shea, president of Major League Eating, views Stonie as the eater who could dethrone six-time champion of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, Joey Chestnut, who is also from San Jose.

"If you're going to take one person to take the reins, many would suggest that's Matt," Shea said.

Chestnut could not be reached for comment.

To prepare for the big hot dog showdown, Stonie will train for three months in advance to get used to the taste and texture of Nathan's franks. This year, he scarfed down 46 dogs in 10 minutes, up from 34 in 2011. Chestnut gobbled up 68.

Despite Chestnut's hold on the title, Stonie remains hopeful that he can one day out-eat him.

"I have to think that way," he said. "I really do. He's been doing this for so long, but you know, everybody has their time, and I'm really pushing hard to beat him."